Oh great!!! BIrd Flu in the Bahamas

[Istaboa]

First Golf courses and now this...
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsst...5355/story.htm
Hope it's not so

[richbahama]

Lets all just sit back and see if it is a connection with the flu. And not to start putting in rumors of the islands.

[johnrudy]

Well, it was the lead story on our local news.

most of mainland Europe[ including France , Switzerland, Germany ]
have reported cases of bird flu in such birds as geese, swans and ducks, caution seems to be the byword to avoid panic, some European countries are making sure chickens,ducks for human consumption [ normally the 'free- range ' type ]should now be housed indoors..Britain and Ireland have not made that compulsory
Turkey has had some fatalities, mostly , where poultry and humans occupy the same living space as has Romania[ there may be other examples]
the major concern seems to be for the handlers of poultry...
some countries in Asia[ Thailand, for example ] are reporting they have their situation under control.
just giving some info as been reported here
ps..what does 'bird flu' have to do with golf courses...

[R]

Maryg,

There is more than the risk to humans at stake here.
The Parrots in The Abacos occur nowhere else, if the Bird flu were to strike this population, it could endanger the species.
Many migrant birds also winter, or at least visit The Abacos, so this could be a very serious problem if it is true.

[b]"what does bird flu have to do with golf courses"

Bird flue and golf courses both desimate endemic populations.

R.

i consider a 'human risk' quite seriously but i do appreciate your comments
re the Abaco Parrots , especially as my mother-in - law was the founder of the 'Friends of the Abaco Parrot ' where she was involved with a lot of research in the late 70's and early 80's....
Ireland..[as an example] is famous for its golf courses and its bird life..lets hope all our fears are unfounded

[abacopotcake]

The Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources held a press conference this afternoon to report that the Inagua birds DID NOT die from the deadly bird flu virus. A representative of PAHO was a part of the team that travelled to Inagua. The Government is now getting the word out internationally to avoid rumors and fears!

thank you so much for that information..

[R]

I don't believe that the testing is complete, they are still collecting samples
Following is from Bloomberg.com:

March 1 (Bloomberg) -- Officials are testing whether dead birds found in the Bahamas, a country located less than 60 miles from Florida, have lethal avian flu, the Pan American Health Organization said today. The results may be ready in four days.

The Bahamas Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources is collecting samples from the dead birds, found on the island of Inagua, about 300 miles from the main island of Nassau, said Sonia Mey, a spokeswoman for PAHO in Washington. Officials are testing to see whether the H5N1 virus has spread to the Western Hemisphere for the first time.

``This is just a case of unexplained deaths in birds and we are not excluding anything at this point in time,'' said Yitades Gebre, adviser for disease prevention and control for the PAHO office in Nassau. ``We are not panicking with the situation.''

PAHO officials said they are advising Bahamian health officials to send the samples to a U.K. lab for testing, which is just a nine-hour flight from Nassau. The branch of the World Health Organization is providing assistance to the Bahamas government in obtaining and assessing the samples.

Calls to Agriculture Minister Leslie Miller of the Bahamas weren't returned. Bahamas Health Minister Bernard Nottage's office referred calls to Public Health Director Baldwin Carey, who didn't return several calls.

R.

lets hope all tests come back negative and that all efforts are been made to resolve any fears

[bellavista2]

who knows?

[island daze]

Which came first the chicken or the egg or maybe it was Chicken Little.Come on guys untill testing is complete why scare the hell out of everyone and even worse try and relate it to Bakers Bay.